Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announced that it has become a supporter of a phase III study comparing radiosurgery with surgical resection for the treatment of early-stage, high-risk,operable non-small cell lung cancer. The study, which will take place over the next eight years, will look at patients' overall, disease-free, and regional recurrence-free survival rates three years after treatment, and also adverse events and ost-treatment quality of life measures.

Sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), the study is being overseen by the alliance, an NCI-sponsored research cooperative that was formed in March 2011 from the merger of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG), Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG). Referred to as ACOSOG Z4099/RTOG1021, the study plans to accrue 420 patients over a five-year period. The Study Chair is Hiran Fernando, M.D., Boston Medical Center, and the Study Co-Chair is Robert Timmerman, M.D., University of Texas Southwestern. As of June 2012, there were 45 cancer treatment centers that had met all requirements for becoming credentialed to participate in the study.

"Varian is very pleased to support this important study," said Kolleen Kennedy, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "To date, there have not been any prospective, randomized trials to compare the efficacy and toxicity of surgery to radiosurgery for high-risk operable early-stage lung cancer patients. We anticipate that this trial could yield very useful information for making treatment decisions about these types of cases."